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(No Mode l.) 2 Sheets'-Sh eet 1.

J. A. BURNAP. APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING ARTIGLES PROM RAILWAY CARS.

No. 244,966. Patented J111y26,-1881.

I nVeM/ZZI" J. BURNAP APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING ARTICLES FROM RAILWAY CARS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Jnly"Z6,-1'881.

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UNITED] STATES "PATENT OFFICEO JOHN A. B'URNAP, on A BAN NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING ARTICLES FROM'RAILWAY-CARS.

SPEGIFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,966, dated July-26, 1881.

' Application filed July 1,1sa1. (no model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that L'JOHNA. BURNAP, a resident of the city of Albany, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Delivering Articles from Railway-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in that class of such apparatus in which articles are delivered into areceiver mounted on wheels riding on ways comprising tracks laid at the same level and alongside of the railway on which the car moves.

The following is a full, clear, and exact description of my improved apparatus,'reference beinglhad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig.2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is asection' onthe line a: a, Fig. -2. Figs. 4 to 8 aredetails; and Fig. 9, a modified construction of a part.

A-represents the side of a mail-car, ,from

. which the mail-bag or other article is to be deli'vered into thereceiver B, which is supported by and slides upon a way consisting of tracks or rods w, which in the apparatus shownare' secured in' the posts 1?,said rods being provided, if desired, with spring-buffers G; The posts are connected at their tops bya crossbar to which, at each end, is attached a sta-. tionary cam, O. The receiver B is suspended at one side'of the way by bearings, forming a part of or attached to one side of the receiver. This arrangement projects the receivertoward the moving car. It also results that the friction of the receiver on the way-tracks is torsional and greater than when not suspended at one side of the way. The receiver B has comparatively low end walls, b, a high central transverse partition, 12, a rounded front, and a high back, thus constituting a pocket-like receptacle at each end. thereof, adapting it to readily receive the mail-bag or other article over its low ends and to retain it by its high partition and sides when delivered from either direction. The receiver may be madesingle thatis, consisting of one pocket only-whenever desired, as when articles are to be delivered from only one direction. The posts P are so set with relation to the car-track that the receiver and its way tracks or rods lie parallel thereto and occupy the least possible ground-space, and are thus adapted to be used with facility between two tracks. Should the apparatus be used for the reception of articles while the car moves in one direction only, the way and recelver' need not be arranged parallel to the railway;

. To the side of the car, A, and located conveniently to its side door, and preferablyso as to be reached therefrom,are secured two eyes adapted to receive the bearings of the crane R, .the horizontal arm of which is provided with bearings for the horizontal arm (I of the tripping-lever D, said arm 01 being provided with a square head, d, against which presses aflat spr1ng,o, which serves to retain the trippinglever in'a perpendicular or a horizontal position, as desired, and yet permits itto be changed from one to the other of these positions when the upper end of the tripping-lever strikes one of the cams G. The tripping-leverD is pro-- vided with upturned hooks d and with. a downward extension, H, carrying the tines E E, held yieldingly'between two notched disks, F, by a spring or washer, which may be of elastic material-such as rubberas shown separated in Fig. 5. Instead of, or in addition to,:this washer, one or both ofthe disks F may be splinedloosely on the extension H, and be backed by:.a coiled spring above the extensionbetween thedisk and a nut or projection on the extension, as shown in Fig. 9. These constructions permit the adjustment of the tines E E to a greater or less spread, a presentation to the front in either dimotion, and to a closely-folded condition when not in use or when the crane and lever are placed snugly against the side of the car, where it maybe retained by any convenient hook or fastening device.

.The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The receiver B is at rest at or near that end of its way which is toward the advancing car. The crane is swung from its resting-place against the car, the bag is hung on that one of the hooks d which is on the rear side (relative to the direction in which the car is movin g) of the lever. When the bag is hung thereon its'lower body portion rests between or within-the tines E E to prevent its swaying, which tines are also presented to the rear.

The crane is now swung to aposition at a right i angle to the side of the car, and the trippinglever and bag are hanging substantially vertically and yieldingly held in that position by the spring 0. The car advances and brings the upper end of the tripping-lever in contact with the fixed cam G, which elevates the tines from the body of the bag and turns the hook d from its attachment to the bag, which then falls into the receiver B, when its.mornentu1n received from the advancing car is expended upon the receiver, and is finally overcome by the friction of the receiver onits tracks and by the spring-buffers G, if there be any. The momentum may be further overcome by making the tracks yielding or springing, which tracks may be so arranged with reference to the bearings of the receiver that when placed one over the other one track may first receive the whole force of impact, and, springing, transmit apart of it to the other track, and so on alternately. The bearings ofthe receiver inclose one or both tracks entirely, or sufliciently to prevent the jumping of the receiver from the way, and are constructed to open for the ready removal of the receiver from the way. The suspended position of the receiver on the ways enables it to be so secured around the tracks, and permits of its passing downward from the normal plane of support by any yielding or springing of the way which may take place, or by any elasticity which may be given to the bearings, and prevents it from jumping the tracks.

By providing a cam at each end of the tracksupport and the receiver with two compartments, the lever with two hooks and with reversible tines, the apparatus is adapted to receive mail-bags from trains advancing in either direction, and by duplicating the receiver and its way-tracks mail bags may be simultaneously received from oppositely-movin g trains.

By this improved apparatus eheapness and simplicity of construction are attained. The receiver, way, and tripping-lever operators, being all contained in one structure, occupy little ground or other space; also, by this improvement the wear and tear of packages and their contents is much diminished, they are delivered with much greater ease and certainty, are elevated above the strong air-currents which exist near the ground under cars in motion, are securely held from swaying, and the whole article-holder or craneis readily placed for use or reversed or displaced for security.

What I claim as new is- 1. The combination of a way arranged near a railway, and a receiver suspended therefrom and movable longitudinally thereof by the momentum of an article delivered from a car on the railway, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of a way placed near a railway and comprising tracks one above the other, and a receiver suspended therefrom and. movable longitudinally thereof by the momentum of an article delivered from a car on the railway, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

3. The combination, with a railway and a car thereon, of a way, a receiver suspended therefrom and movable longitudinally thereof by the momentum of an article delivered from the car, a device moving with the ear for detachably holding an article, and a stationary detaching device in the path of the holding de vice, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with a railway and a car thereon, of a way arranged near the railway and comprising tracks one above the other, a receiver movable longitudinally thereon by the momentum of an article delivered from a car, a device moving with the car and capable of detachabl y holding an article, and a stationary detaching device in the path of the holding device, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A receiver having a low wall at the receivin g end, a high wall at the opposite end, and side walls increasing in height from the low receiving end toward the high opposite end, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. A double receiver having low ends, sides increasing in height from the low ends toward their centers, and a partition-wall higher than the ends, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In combination with a railway-car, a crane, a tripping-holder, and an automatic means for keeping the holder in position, both for tripping and for not tripping and for automatically permitting it to be shifted from one position to the other, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In combination with a railway-car, the crane R, a tripping-lever, having an angular head, and a spring, 0, as and for the purpose set forth.

9. A tripping-lever having means for detachably holding a package, and having a device capable of sustaining the lower end of the package from swaying, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination with a tripping-lever having means for detachable holding a package, with an adjustable device for sustaining the lower portion of the package from swaying, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In combination with a tripping-lever having on opposite sides thereof means for detachably holding an article, a reversible means for sustaining the lower portion of the package, as and for the purpose set forth.

12. The combination of a tripping-lever having a holding device and an automatic means for both permitting its shifting and for holding it when in position to uphold a package and when out of such position, and a device for removably sustaining the lower portion of an article, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

13. The combination of a tripping-lever hav' ing aholding device, an automatic device for permitting its shifting and holding it when shifted, and an adjustable device for removably sustaining the lower portion of an article, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 14. The combination of a tripping-leverhav: ing a holding device on opposite sides thereof, an automatic devicefor permitting its shifting and holding it when shifted, and a reversible device for holding the lower portion of an article, as and for the purpose set forth. 7

15. The combination, with a car, of a crane having a tripping-lever and upper holder and a lower adjustable snstainer, as and for the purpose set forth.

16. The tripping-lever D, provided with the hook d" and tines E E, as shown and described. 17. The tripping-lever I), provided with the hooks d and adjustable tines E E, as shown and described.

20. The combination of the tripping-lever D,

having means for detachably holding an article, crane R, and car A, with the posts P, cam or cams 0, tracks 20, and receiver B, as shown and described.

In testimony whereof lhavehereunto affixed my signature, in presence of witnesses, this 9th 3 5 day of August, 1880.

JOHN A. BURNAP. Witnesses:

J. HALL, 'Oms. W. MEAD. 

